Chairs.

Today I decided to strip a chair before painting it, instead of chipping the loose paint off and sanding the paint to scuff it up for primer. After many a rash, I really hate to use harsh chemicals like turpentine, lacquer thinner, kerosene, etc. That being said, this chair seemed ancient so I decided that working in some fumes might not be as bad as working in lead paint dust. I ended up buying an aerosol spray can of thinner at the Home Depot. The aerosol turned out to be a bad idea as the spray is thick and wild, but I chose it because I thought I'd use it all unlike the larger container. It was messier than I expected, but the fumes seemed mellow (thinner vapors tend to sink, and I was working outside) and it worked great! There's still a bit of paint on the wood but I think I'm done with the thinner. I may even stain the wood so that I can use some real wood grain amidst the painted design which is to have a Cowboys and Indians theme.

Once I was done with the thinner project, I had the nice surprise of finding out that I'm featured in a treasury on Etsy.com. It has the theme "Interior" and is made by Hungarian felt artist Kati Bobaly of Dekorart. She chose my painting "Elvin's Chair" to join the collection. Elvin's Chair is a rare still life (love them but rarely paint them) of one of the first furniture pieces I bought when I moved to Portland. This was a pretty sweet chair and I just sold it to a Miami transplant since it was getting no use sitting in our garage. Please take a look at it on Dekorart's treasury. The collection features some Etsy artists that I frequently check up on.